Tooth brush



Dec. 6, 1938. M. w. KOHLER ET AL 2,139,593

TOOTH BRUSH Filed May 25, 1936 Patented Dec. 6, 1938 PATENT OFFiCE TOOTH BRUSH Milton W. Kohler, Fairport, and Irving N. Kohler, Middleport, N. Y.

Application May 23,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to tooth brushes and more particularly to the means for combining an auxiliary tooth cleaning and polishing element with an ordinary tooth brush.

The main object of the invention is to provide means for increasing the usefulness of an ordinary tooth brush by removably attaching to the handle member thereof an extra tooth cleaning and polishing element for treating parts of the teeth which cannot be reached by the ordinary tooth brush.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an auxiliary tooth cleaning and polishing element which can be removably attached to any standard tooth brush.

A further object of the invention is to provide a brush for cleaning the teeth in the ordinary way and for cleaning teeth in the manner followed by dentists, namely by a wheel and cup shaped brush known in the trade as Abbott, Excell, Star Heldryte, or Robinson brushes.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a slip ring for holding the stem of the auxiliary cleaning element against the handle member of the brush.

Other objects will appear as the disclosure progresses. The drawing is intended to merely indicate a possible embodiment of the invention. It is obvious that the actual needs of manufacture may necessitate certain mechanical changes, It is therefore not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated but rather to define such limits in the appended claims.

For a more general understanding of the invention attention is called to the drawing in which like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the specification.

Figure l is a side View of the brush showing the auxiliary tooth cleaning and polishing element attached to the handle member.

Figure 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary top view of the handle end of the brush shown in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a side View of a handle member showing a tooth cleaning element attached at one end and a dental mirror attached to the opposite end.

Figure 5 is a similar view as Figure 4 but showing difierent tooth treating elements attached to the opopsite ends of the'handle member.

Figure 6 is a view showing a handle member having a wheel brush at one end and a cup shaped brush at the opposite end.

Figure 7 is a top view of the cup shaped cleaning element.

1936, Serial No. 81,526

"Referring now to the drawing in detail and especially to Figures 1, 2 and 3, numeral l designates the handle member of a standard tooth brush, 2 the hole in the end otthe handle member and 3 the auxiliary tooth cleaning element. 5 The tooth cleaning element comprises a relatively thin wheel shaped brush 4 having radiating bristles and mounted on a stem 5. The stem 5 includes two parallel disposed members 6 and 1 between which is an offset portionv 8. The offset 10. portion passes through the hole 2 while the member 6 of the stem rests on one side of the handle member and the member I engages the opposite side of the handle member. A slip ring 8a is provided to hold the end of the stem in place. The 15 slip ring engages the end of the stem and can be moved out of engagement thereof when it becomes necessary to remove or replace the auxiliary element.

In Figure 4 the same attaching mechanism is shown for holding a cup shaped brush and a dental mirror. Numeral 9 designates the handle member, it] the cup shaped brush and H the dental mirror. The said cup shaped brush is fixed to the end of the stem I 2 provided with parallel portions l3 and I4 and an ofiset portion l5 which passes through the hole l6 of the handle member. The slip ring I! holds the handle member properly positioned in place and can be moved out of the way of the stem whenever it becomes necessary to remove or replace the said brush. The dental mirror H at the opposite end of the handle member is attached to a stem I8 which passes through the hole IQ of the handle member. is bent at an obtuse angle in relation to the forward portion of the stem so it will fit against the underside of the handle member. A slip ring 20 is provided to keep the stem removably in place against the handle member.

In Figure 5 one end of the handle member 2| is provided with a similar brush as the brush I0 shown in Figure 4 while the opposite end is provided with a wheel brush 22 having a straight stem 23 which protrudes in the end of the handle member.

In Figure 6 one end of the handle member 24 is provided with a cup shaped brush 25 mounted on an L.-shaped stem 25a protruding in the end of the handle member while the opposite end is provided with a wheel brush 26 mounted on a stem 2? and held in place by the slip ring 28.

In operation the standard constructed brush is of course used in the ordinary manner. The wheel shaped brush can be used either in a hori- The end half portion of the stem 19 35 I zontal or vertical position with the bristles contacting the teeth one at a time and is especially adapted for occlusal and lingual surfaces of the teeth. The cup shaped brush can however be used in any position and particularly useful in cleaning and polishing the occlusal, labial and buccal surfaces of the teeth and also can be used on the lingual surfaces.

It will thus be seen that we have provided a simple, efficient and practical device for increasing the usefulness of a tooth brush. The bristles of the cup or wheel shaped brush will reach the remote teeth and the crevices between them where the ordinary brush would ordinarily not touch. The devices can be made to fit any standard brush or can be built as a unit in combination with the brush.

Having described our invention, we claim:

1. In a brush of the class described, a handle member, a tooth treating element removably attached to the end of the handle member, said handle member having a hole at the end thereof with its axis arranged at right angles to the longitudinal axis of said handle member, said tooth treating element mounted on a stem, said stem having an offset portion, said offset portion passing through said hole in said handle member, and a slip ring engaging the end of said stem and looking it to said handle member, the ends of said stem lying on opposite sides of said hole and handle member and in planes parallel with the top of said handle member, to hold same in rigid relation to said handle member.

2. In a brush of the class described, a handle member, a tooth treating element attached to the end of said handle member, said tooth treating element comprising a brush mounted on a stem, said stem provided with a bent portion, a part of said bent portion passing through a hole in the handle member, the end of said part of said stem lying on a plane parallel with a side of said handle member, and a slip ring mounted on said handle for fastening the end of said stem and handle member together.

3. In a brush of the class described, a handle member, a tooth treating element removably attached to the end of the handle member, said handle member having a hole at the end thereof with its. axis arranged at right angles to the longitudinal axis of said handle member, said tooth treating element mounted on a stem which lies along one side of the said handle member, said stem having an ofiset portion, said offset portion passing through said hole in the handle member and having a straight portion extending rearwardly along the handle on the other side thereof and a slip ring directly engaging said stem and locking it to said handle member.

MILTON W. KOHLER. IRVING N. KOHLER. 

